German Authorities Identify Suspect in 1970 Munich Arson Killing Seven Holocaust Survivors

German prosecutors have identified the suspect in the February 13, 1970, antisemitic arson attack in Munich, where seven elderly Holocaust survivors were killed after the Jewish community building and nursing home were set ablaze with gasoline. The suspect, who died in 2020 at age 25 and was described as having an "obsession with Hitler," has not been named. New investigations and testimonies revealed that a failed jewelry store robbery the night before led the suspect and an accomplice to curse Jews and threaten to burn the community center. A witness saw the suspect near the scene on the fatal night, and a former prison cellmate testified that the suspect confessed to the crime in 1971, but authorities did not act on this information at the time.

For decades, the investigation focused on far-left extremists and radical Islamists, partly due to a Palestinian terrorist attack at Munich airport three days earlier. In the deadly fire, six Jews were burned alive, and a seventh died after jumping from his room window. One survivor, who endured seven or eight concentration camps, told investigators, "I thought I could grow old peacefully in Germany; I never experienced a night like that before." The victims had survived the Holocaust and Nazi regime, with two having endured extermination camps, only to perish in the 1970 fire. Details about the perpetrator’s motives and the exact sequence of events remain unclear even after 56 years.

Historian Olaf Kistenmacher explained in a 2017 interview that the fire was likely started by multiple people, based on the accelerants used. The arsonists poured gasoline and ignited several spots in the stairwell. This attack occurred just three days after Palestinian terrorists assaulted Munich airport and attempted to hijack an El Al flight. Israeli passenger Aryeh Katzenshtein died heroically during that attack by throwing himself on a grenade to save fellow passengers.